1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wheelchair and more particularly to a tiltable wheelchair having a head rest and an adjustable leg support while still providing mobility in a reclined position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The art of the wheelchair for usage by injured and infirm people is well known. Classically, the wheelchair was designed and developed to transport a person from one location to another as contrasted with the use of a stretcher. However, as health care evolved to be more specialized, the wheelchair has become a very common and indispensable instrument. The actual function of the wheelchair has changed from that of a traditionally transporting device to a holding device for patients and infirm people who ultimately spend a great deal of time confined to the wheelchair. Examples of such usage would be in skilled care and conventional nursing home facilties. Typically, a patient in such facilities is placed in the wheelchair upon rising in the morning and removed only for brief periods of time until again placed in their bed at night. The wheelchair is not designed for much extended holding in that typically it provides only upright sitting with the occupant's legs extending straight down in front of the occupant with little or no support for the shoulders and head. Typically, flexion deformity results with the patient assuming a posture of forward slump, resting the head over the knees or over the side of the wheelchair.
The present art of wheelchair development to lessen the aforesaid problem includes means to permit the chair itself to rock as disclosed in Kiel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,269 and Vaughan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,046. However, rocking motion may often not be desired and may be impractical where the patient is not physically able to provide the rocking motion force necessary to continually move the chair. Further, the absolute stability of the chair when occupied by an elderly person, who through inadvertance may obtain undesired and unpredictable movement of a rocking chair cannot be subject of concern when occupants are left unattended. Further, the rocking type chairs are in a fixed location when the rocker is engaged, thus at the least providing a monotonous environment and potentially a serious safety hazard, thorugh their inability to move in an emergency.
There is a need for a safety wheelchair which is adapted to hold an individual for extended periods of time, for when relief from the traditional upright sitting position may be given, while still permitting their mobility.